BEATRIZ’S “PADRINO” KEEPS HER GOING STRONG

Beatriz is unstoppable. She lives with her mother, Lucia, near our PENNT sponsor site in Cochabamba, Bolivia. PENNT stands for Programa Escolar para Niños y Niñas Trabajadores (School Program for Working Boys and Girls.) As the name suggests, young people in this community are at an unusually high risk of dropping out of school to enter the workforce, usually jobs like market vending or car washing.

But even though Beatriz has been tempted many times to drop out like so many of her classmates, she has always remained steady and focused on her future.

“Beatriz, since a very young age, was always a fighter,” her PENNT site friends describe. Even after many setbacks in the family, “all these situations made her strong to face the challenges of life.”

Part of her fighting spirit has come through the constant support of her Chalice sponsor, whom she calls her ‘padrino’ or ‘godfather.’

“Beatriz is very grateful for the sponsorship program because it changed her life,” write the PENNT staff. “All the benefits she has received from her godfather were a great help at home and helped her to keep going ahead and never give up.”

“When we asked her what she remembers the most when she was a child, she says without hesitation: “When my godfather chose me to be his goddaughter.”

As she pursued high school, she always kept an eye out for ways to help her mother, financially – but she always prioritized her education – she knew that dropping out to find work was not the best way to succeed. “She never gave up,” the staff say. “One of her goals was to graduate from high school and she achieved it.”

That was no small feat because Beatriz became a mother in high school, too. But, while this was a new challenge, “this did not stop her from continuing with her dreams.” Beatriz always maintained that “prayer could help her family.”

Now, Beatriz has graduated and is studying gastronomy. She provides for both her mother and her three-year-old daughter at the same time. “She says they are her inspiration to keep going ahead.”

“Beatriz is very happy to know that she has a special person from Canada who cares about her and her family.”